Should you leave or live with your parents?

PETALING JAYA: Should young adults live apart from their parents or, as recently advised by a property consultant, continue living with them?

According to sociologist Denison Jayasooria, there are both advantages and disadvantages of remaining in your parents’ home, but the negatives outweigh the positives, especially if you’re married.

Jayasooria, a research fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said it was best for married couples, even newlyweds, to have their independence.

Speaking to FMT, he acknowledged that living with one’s parents could help strengthen the family bond, but he said this might not last, especially when there’s a clash of values.

He said the relationship might end up being hurt if “the young people want their autonomy and the parents are old fashioned”.

He recognised that some parents would prefer to have their single sons or daughters live with them to keep them company. “This could be positive,” he said, “but it could be negative if the children remain under the parents’ supervision.

“It also depends on how big the house is.”

He said the best arrangement would be for young adults to leave their parents’ home and live near them.

In a recent interview with FMT, real estate expert Ernest Cheong said property prices had gone up so high that it might be best for young working adults to continue living with their parents.

Cheong criticised the government’s housing policy as faulty, citing a recent report on the high number of unsold residential units.

He said this indicated a mismatch between the supply of properties and the general public’s ability to buy them.

Earlier this month, Khazanah Research Institute’s director of research, Suraya Ismail, urged the public to consider renting instead of buying a house.

She acknowledged, however, that rental rates in Kuala Lumpur and parts of Selangor were too high for most people.

Jones Lang Wootton director Prem Kumar said the renting option offered more flexibility. He said owning a property at a young age would eat into a person’s disposable income. -FMT